OTTAWA — Ottawa police have started tougher enforcement of state seat belt and child restraint laws and other traffic rules. The increased police presence is part of a statewide “Click it or Ticket” traffic enforcement campaign, Capt. Adam Weingartner said. The campaign will continue through June 2, he said. “Everyone knows there are seat belt laws and that seat belts and child safety seats save lives and reduce injuries,” Weingartner said. “But too many drivers play the odds and don’t buckle up, or require their passengers to buckle up because, in their experience, a crash is unlikely. But, when a crash does happen – and it’s generally within five miles from home – the four seconds it takes to buckle up looks like a smart idea.” Although many drivers are good drivers, it’s also about other drivers sharing the road, he said. “When you don’t buckle up yourself, or require your passengers to buckle up, you’re making the decision for everyone in your vehicle that the drivers you meet are not going to be distracted by sleepiness, cell phone conversations, texting, their coffee, changing radio stations, or kids fighting in the back seat,” he said. “And you’re assuming that no animal, mechanical or roadway circumstance will cause you to suddenly slow or veer out of your lane.” Law enforcement officers can stop vehicles and issue tickets when they observe front seat occupants, or children under the age of 14, riding without proper restraint. In the event that a passenger under the age of 14 is unrestrained, the driver will be cited, he said.
In addition, state law prohibits any one under the age of 14 from riding in any part of a vehicle not intended for carrying passengers, such as a pickup bed. Kansas’ adult average seat belt compliance rate is 80 percent, with higher rates generally associated with urban counties. Although only about one-third of all crashes occur on rural roadways, rural roads see fully two-thirds of all crashes with fatalities, he said.
Monday, May 20, 4 p.m.
